20demayo Chapter 65 Heavy Losses
Chapter 65 Heavy Losses
After the caravan had traveled two or three miles along by inertia, the fog thickened again, narrowing their vision, filling them with a pungent miasma, and turning their ground back into a muddy and dangerous swamp.
Vijay suddenly realized that the safe zone he had seen before did not actually extend all the way to the end of the swamp.
The people in the caravan remained calm, because Vijay had at least proven that he hadn't rashly led them here to their deaths.
Turning back now is definitely not the solution; we can only hope that there will be a safe zone ahead.
And there are even worse things.
The flying leopard from last night still seems to have not given up on revenge.
Like a shadow hidden in the mist, it followed the caravan closely, occasionally getting close enough to make its presence known, but never launching another attack, seemingly patiently waiting for the perfect moment.
The entire team was once again placed on high alert, which severely impacted the caravan's speed.
Only Delanvila was completely focused, his eyes like an eagle's, scanning the thick fog around him intently, as if he were about to rush over and fight that guy to the death at any moment.
Finally, while crossing a muddy slope, the Flying Leopard seemed to have spotted an opportunity.
A dark shadow flashed by in the thick fog a dozen meters away.
Delanvila's eyes narrowed, instantly catching the faint but present killing intent.
The next moment, the black panther transformed into a black lightning bolt, swooping down and pouncing on one of the unsuspecting coachmen in the group.
"Be careful!"
With a roar, Delanvila charged forward, his long sword flashing in mid-air.
"clang!"
A metallic clanging sound rang out.
The black panther was forced back, and the coachman, who narrowly escaped with his life, collapsed to the ground, trembling all over.
The black panther landed in the mud and slowly turned around.
The wound on its back, inflicted by Delanville yesterday, had completely scabbed over, and the flesh was rapidly undulating, healing at an abnormally fast pace.
Immediately afterwards, it raised its head and let out a ferocious, sharp roar.
This is not a cry for help, but a call to action.
"Swish! Swish!"
Four whooshing sounds rang out simultaneously.
Four identical black figures leaped out from the thick fog from all directions, their wings spread, revealing their ferocious glint.
Five winged leopards surrounded the caravan and pounced on it.
These things even travel in groups!
Although the team was prepared, this was still far beyond everyone's expectations!
Sada swayed, shielding a servant beside him, and parried with his sword.
Bim's eyes sharpened, and with a sudden flick of his wrist, the short spear in his hand shot out like a bolt of lightning.
"Thud!" The sharp spear tip, carrying the rage that Bim had accumulated over the years, pierced the neck of a flying leopard.
Fresh blood spurted out.
The instant kill that even Delanvila couldn't achieve was accomplished by one of his insignificant Shudra servants!
This was the only result of the caravan's counterattack.
Seeing their companion killed, the other four black panthers became even more ferocious and attacked wildly.
In an instant, screams, roars, and the sounds of clashing weapons mingled together, creating an extremely chaotic scene.
However, their speed was ridiculously fast, and they could strike and leave in an instant, which dashed Delanvila's hopes of a head-on confrontation, leaving him with nowhere to vent his anger!
Delanvila's eyes widened in fury, his heart burning with rage.
He strode up to the carcass of the black panther that Bim had shot, raised his longsword, and began hacking wildly at the corpse.
Only after chopping the corpse into pieces did he manage to vent his rage.
The fog enveloped the surroundings once more, and the Flying Leopard, having completed its final round of attacks, had vanished.
Of course, no one would think they were scared away by Delanvila's incompetent rage!
They can only retreat back into the fog, waiting for the next attack!
The team members were still in shock, panting heavily, their bodies covered in mud and blood.
Vijay stood in the mud, gazing at the endless thick fog, his brow furrowed.
He knew perfectly well that this was not the end, but there was no good solution.
"Keep moving forward!" Once the caravan gets out of the swamp, these guys will naturally retreat.
And so, the servants, who had some knowledge of herbal medicine, gave everyone simple bandages, and then continued on their way.
A new problem arose: as the team ventured deeper into the swamp, the safe zone disappeared.
Everyone gritted their teeth and persevered, walking from day to night. The bloodlust and ferocity that had been ignited during the fight with the black panther gradually cooled down.
Exhaustion, thirst, despair, and fear, like the black water of a swamp, slowly engulfed everyone's mind.
A barrage of questioning, uneasy, and probing glances were cast toward Vijay.
They were desperate and had no choice but to place all their hopes on the head of the caravan.
What could Vijay possibly do?
Even Bim, the only one who has ever traveled the old route, can only barely grasp the general direction of "heading east" and can no longer accurately identify the path.
In this godforsaken place where the sun is nowhere to be seen, there are no road signs, and the mud and fog are almost identical, it is a miracle to be able to remember the general direction.
No one knows what methods the Mittal family ancestors used to accurately locate those life-saving safe zones time and time again.
Is it really divine protection?
The more Vijay thought about it, the heavier his heart became.
"what!"
A piercing, short, and utterly desperate scream suddenly ripped through the night sky!
"right!"
Vijay's heart clenched, and he abruptly turned his head to look.
On the far right of the procession, the divine ox pulling the cart and the driver vanished into thin air.
The oxcart, which was moving steadily forward just a second ago, suddenly lost its pull and collapsed with a crash.
Planks broke, ropes snapped, goods were scattered all over the ground, and mud was splashing everywhere.
"It's Black Panther?!"
Delanvila's eyes widened, he roared, drew his knife and charged forward, his feet landing on the soft, muddy ground as he cautiously and fiercely scanned the area back and forth.
But as he searched carefully, his expression gradually darkened.
There was no trace of the black panther.
I didn't hear any sound of air being cut!
The wreckage of the oxcart was on relatively hard ground and had not sunk into the swamp, so it was definitely not because the driver had accidentally fallen in.
What happened?
Delanvila stood there, his brow furrowed, utterly bewildered.
The soil beneath my feet shifted slightly.
An indescribable, cold, and slippery sensation instantly came from the sole of the shoe.
Delanvila abruptly lowered his head, his pupils suddenly contracting.
A thick root suddenly burst forth from the soil without warning!
Its color blends almost completely with the swamp. When it moves slowly, it is silent and lurking. When it moves, it is as fast as a venomous snake. Tiny tentacles sway at its tip, as if it has an independent life. It frantically coils around his ankle!
"snort!"
Delanvila snorted coldly, his reaction was incredibly fast.
Thanks to the fact that he never removed his armor along the way, the thick metal plates at his ankles effectively blocked the first wave of roots wrapping around and tightening.
But the immense force emanating from the roots was terrifying.
A powerful pulling force suddenly came, almost pulling him down and dragging him into the mud.
"Let go of me!"
Delanvila roared, his legs slammed into a horse stance, his muscles tensed and bulged, and he stood firmly on the muddy ground.
The next second, he swung his long sword backhand, and the blade slashed down fiercely!
"Pfft!" A slight cracking sound, the blade was slightly hindered, but it still cleanly and neatly severed that strange root.
The detached roots fell to the ground, instantly losing all vitality, drying up like a piece of rotten wood that had been dead for many years.
Who would have thought that just seconds before, it was brimming with ferocious vitality?
Delanvila's strike saved himself, but it also thoroughly enraged the unknown entity.
"Buzz,"
A deep, eerie tremor, seemingly emanating from the depths of the earth, suddenly resounded.
The next moment, the entire swamp came to life.
All around the caravan, every inch of soil, every patch of grass, and every depression trembled violently, and countless vines and roots, like arms reaching out from hell, burst forth from the earth and soared into the sky!
They twisted, coiled, whipped, and swept through, like a suddenly appearing, chaotic forest, with the momentum to destroy everything, threatening to devour the entire caravan alive!
Everyone was stunned, their bodies stiffened, and their minds went blank.
Fortunately, the guards were well-trained and had developed an instinctive reaction.
The soldiers roared and charged forward, blocking the way, raising their weapons and desperately hacking at the wildly spreading vines.
The sounds of metal being chopped, vines snapping, screams, and gasps mingled together in an instant.
No one was spared. Vijay drew his Kanda sword, wielding the blade to hold back the ubiquitous vines, and still had some strength left to support the nearby team members.
"Hold on!" Vijay cut off a vine, pulled up a teammate who had fallen to the ground, and shouted loudly in an attempt to boost morale, but it seemed that no one paid attention to his shouts.
No sooner had he finished speaking than several silent vines shot out from the side and lashed him hard.
"Snap!" A crisp sound.
A sharp pain instantly spread throughout my body, a burning pain; my clothes were torn, and my skin was left with red, swollen welts.
The defenses were breached, but not fatally!
"Master!" Bim's voice was somewhat bitter.
Vijay turned his head and saw that Bim was in a bad situation.
The old servant who had been closely protecting Vijay was now entangled in several vines around his arms and waist, his face turning pale, but he still gripped the short spear tightly and kept stabbing at the roots that were getting closer to his master.
Vijay rushed forward, gathering his strength, and slashed the vines several times.
In just a few moments, Vijay had figured out the truth about these broken things.
They are numerous but weak. Apart from the significant threat of pulling people into the mud, any two team members can at least support the rescue of others if they can help each other fully.
But there was more bad news: it was getting dark!
Now, with the help of the dim light, we can at least see the approaching vines clearly and take effective countermeasures.
But what should we do when night falls?
Without any light, it's easy to imagine how much more dangerous the vines would be!
What should we do then?
Just as the worry began, night suddenly fell, and it seemed that in an instant, all vision was gone.
Time seemed to stand still for a moment, and then the hard-won equilibrium was immediately broken!
Screams immediately erupted in the darkness.
"what!"
"Help me! Help me!"
"It's got me hooked!"
Despair and death completely enveloped the team.
Each person had to fight their own battle and dared not move recklessly for fear of accidentally injuring their comrades.
Several thick vines seized the opportunity to wrap tightly around Vijay's body, locking onto his neck.
An immense constricting force came, almost crushing my bones, instantly stopping my breathing, and my vision went black.
Vijay gripped the vine that was strangling him with all his might, his knuckles turning white, his whole body tense.
What other options are there?
What other way out is there?
His mind was racing as he suffocated.
The next second, his gaze was fixed on the system panel.
There was no time to hesitate.
He made a decision instantly.
Body Tempering Technique (1/5)
There are no divine eyes here! We must get close to nature!
Karma Yoga (1/3)
Talent points reduced by 2, remaining at 0.
Two attribute points were allocated without hesitation.
Fortunately, the system did not flash any images to distract him at this critical moment.
A violent, abundant, and unprecedented power surged forth from every part of his body in an instant!
All the knowledge about advancing in body tempering techniques was smoothly etched into his brain, and the energy accumulated in his muscles sublimated at this moment.
With veins bulging on his hands, he ripped the vines wrapped around his neck off with his bare hands.
While the muscles were still adapting to the changes, the ears and eyes suddenly seemed to hear and see a different world.
The darkness is no longer pure darkness.
In his perception, the surrounding environment transformed into a gray-white three-dimensional map, clearly showing the origin, movement, speed, and location of every vine, and even the source of the vines beneath the mud.
It was as if the swamp was whispering in his ear, opening everything up to him.
"Eyes! Light!" Vijay roared.
Even amidst the onslaught of vines, the eyes, which had remained silent, seemed to finally awaken from some kind of slumber.
A faint light slowly emanated from his body.
The light was faint, like a candle flickering in the wind, ready to go out at any moment.
But this tiny ray of light illuminated a part of the battlefield, gave the panicked troops a sense of stability, and prevented them from accidentally injuring each other.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Vijay began to practice his breathing technique. The air he suddenly inhaled from his abdomen carried the hidden power within his body in a strange trajectory, causing his muscles to tense up until they turned red and his veins to bulge!
He charged into the raging vines, weapon in hand, and began slashing wildly!
The first person rescued was Sada, who was tightly bound by several vines and was about to be dragged into the mud!
Vijay appeared like a divine warrior, chopping the vines binding him to pieces with a few strokes.
Only a stunning profile of Sada was shown.
Vijay ignored the predicament of the people on the ground and simply swung his sword at the roots of the vines that extended out of the ground.
After activating his breathing technique, he performed like a war god, severing dozens of vines with a single strike.
I don't know how long they chopped it down.
The earthquake gradually subsided.
As if sensing the danger, the vines retreated underground like a tide and disappeared.
The light faded away just in time.
Silence and darkness enveloped the surroundings once more.
It's so dark you can't see your hand in front of your face!
The survivors collapsed in the mud, panting heavily and trembling all over.
Someone is crying.
Someone is dry heaving.
The team's morale has completely collapsed!
Vijay stepped forward again, demonstrating his ability to stand firm: "By Brahma! Bring over the cattle and horses you can reach!"
"Gantan!" Vijay continued to command, "Is he still alive?"
"Master, I'm here!" a weak voice rang out.
"Tell all cattle and horses to come towards the source of my voice!"
"Don't move around! Gather the carriages together and sleep in them!"
"Speak to the injured people first, then give them medicine!"